Piece by piece, run by run, the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the World Series assiduously built yet another comeback victory – their latest miracle in miniature in a season full of them. With the 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night at American Family Field, the Brewers now lead the best-of-seven series by a count of 2-0.
Yet another Brewers comeback was made necessary by the Rays' explosive first inning at the expense of starter Logan Henderson. A Liam Hicks home run put the finishing touches on a four-run opening frame. Thereupon, though, the Brewers began chiseling away in familiar fashion. William Contreras bounced a single up the middle to plate Milwaukee's first run of the game in the home half of the first. Then a sharp Garrett Mitchell single halved the Rays' lead later in that same frame. A crucial miscue in the fourth allowed the Brewers to score their third run of the game, and then Sal Frelick's solo home run tied the game in the sixth. Finally, in the seventh, a Cooper Pratt opposite-field single brought Brice Turang home from third and gave the Brewers their first lead of the game.
Meantime, the Rays, after putting four runs up within the first five batters of the game, would not score again. It was, yes, another spotless effort from the Milwaukee bullpen, who worked six shutout innings in Game 2. Things got taut all over again in the ninth, but Aaron Ashby, who still hasn't yielded a run in these playoffs, retired the dangerous Yandy Díaz on a checked-swing, full-count strike three with the tying run 90 feet from home.
For the Brewers, they knew the territory they mined in Game 2. During the regular season, Pat Murphy's squad authored 42 comeback wins, tied for fifth-most in MLB. As of Saturday night, they've added another six come-from-behind wins in the playoffs. Regular season and playoffs combined, the Brewers are now 41-37 when the opposition scores first. That's a remarkable figure given that all MLB teams this season had a .331 winning percentage under such circumstances. As a consequence of their latest, the Brewers are just two wins from their first World Series title.
Now for some winners and losers from Game 2.
Winner: The Brewers' chances of winning their first World Series
As you would expect, the Brewers are now in an enviable position. Teams up 2-0 in a best-of-seven MLB postseason series have gone on to win that series a hefty 83.2% of the time. Teams that have been up 2-0 after opening the series at home, as is the case with the Brewers right now, have gone on to win that series 82.5% of the time. So it's essentially the same. They need to win two games before the Rays win four.
Mounting that Game 2 comeback was essential. Had the Rays preserved their lead, this would in essence be a best-of-five series, and the Rays would have snatched away home-field advantage. That's notable, since the Rays, regular season and playoffs combined, are 59-27 at the Trop in 2026. With Freddy Peralta lined up for Game 3, the Rays may also have the pitching edge for Monday's contest. Game 2, then, may have been a turning point. The Brewers are now in full command of the series, but had they not managed that yeomanlike comeback on Saturday, we might be talking about how the Rays were in the better position right now.
Loser: The Rays' defense
This game might have had a different outcome – meaning a Rays win – if the American League champions had been more buttoned-up on the defensive side. First baseman Jonathan Aranda failed to secure a Contreras pop-up in the first inning, and soon after he notched that RBI single. Aranda in the fourth had a bit of a, ahem, Bill Buckner moment that allowed the Brewers to their third run on the board:
In the sixth, Chandler Simpson failed to secure a shallow fly ball and was somehow not charged with an error:
Had the hobbled Jake Bauers not been on first base with two outs, that might have led to a run, but instead Simpson was bailed out when Contreras grounded out to end the inning and strand Bauers at third.
Winner: Cooper Pratt, Brewers
Pratt's first inning error, which helped keep the Tampa Bay line moving in that big inning, gave him an inauspicious start to Game 2. Later, however, he would find his way to redemption with an opposite-field single off a 2-2 sinker from Kevin Kelly:
That was the 22-year-old rookie's first career playoff RBI, and it was a big one.
"That speaks to Cooper, what type of individual he is, being able to hang in there when things didn't go great for him early, even early in that at-bat," Murphy said after the game.
"That guy is super tough on right-handers. For him to put that ball in play, we spent a lot of time on that reliever and talking about how to face him. He's outstanding, and Coop just put together a great at-bat, a great teacher for every young person in the room that the game doesn't start a certain way, doesn't mean it has to end that way."
Loser: Ian Seymour, Rays
Rays manager Kevin Cash is short on bullpen arms right now and in particular doesn't have great options from the left side. So he keeps going to Seymour, and Seymour keeps struggling, at least in the playoffs. In Game 2 on Saturday, he allowed two hits, including the game-tying home run to Frelick, and a walk while recording only one out. He's looked particularly lost in his last three outings going back to Game 4 of the ALCS. The writ-small difference between the Brewers and Rays bullpen right now is Cash's continued reliance on Seymour for leverage innings.
"Look, they put a bunch of good at-bats. I thought the first at-bat, Ian got a little bit stubborn with the fastballs he continued to throw to Frelick. He misses middle down -- not misses, throws the ball middle down and carries it out to center field. Then he settled in," Cash said after the game.
"But those guys put together some tremendous at-bats driving the pitch count up. He picked up two strikeouts, and it took him almost 20-plus pitches to get two strikeouts."
After an off day Sunday, the series continues with Game 3 on Monday night at Tropicana Field. First pitch will be shortly after 8:00 p.m. ET.
